


If the Shoe Fits

by MysticAuthoress



Category: Cinderella - All Media Types
Genre: ALL THE GAY, Fabulous, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-24
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-20 11:50:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1509437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticAuthoress/pseuds/MysticAuthoress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Worried about his father's desperation for him to settle down with a wife, Prince Henry finds his world completely shaken by the events of one evening. He then finds himself struggling to choose between his heart and his father's dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

I remember the day like it was yesterday. A day so important is hard to forget. It was the day I had no choice but to be honest with myself.

You see, my father is a king. Which makes me a prince. As his only son, I lived my life under the pressure of his wishes. There was one particular wish of his that burdened me more than any other. He desperately pushed me to settle down and marry, so that he might have grandchildren.

But the trouble was, I was uninterested in that life. I didn't want to settle down. But rather than letting me be, my father set up a ridiculously large ball for all the kingdom to attend, in hopes I would find the girl of my dreams. That's where it all truly began I suppose. Looking back, I can see everything lining up to that moment.

There I stood, all dressed up to attend an event I wanted to be far away from. The only thing I could look forward to was the end of the night. As all the guests filed in, I felt their eyes on me. There was the lively buzz of conversation, and the blaring sounds of the orchestra in the ballroom. 

Feeling incredibly nervous, I adjusted my collar as a group of young ladies walked past, giggling and waving at me in hopes of attention. I could feel my stomach twist as the anxiety rose. Before they could get too close, I gasped as I felt myself being pulled off in the opposite direction.

"I can't remember the last I saw the castle so busy, can you?" 

I felt a wave of relief as my best friend, Alexander, turned to flash a charming grin in my direction.

"I thought you said you didn't like parties!" I laughed as he let go of my arm. 

"Well, I figured we could be miserable together." He smiled again, looking around as we stood together in a corner of the ballroom. I was genuinely surprised to see him there. But I suppose he understood how hard it was for me. Trapped in a social event, stuck with my father's high expectations  
.  
"Thank you for coming," I heard myself saying. I looked up at him almost shyly. His pale green eyes trailed the busy dancers.

"I don't do these things for just anyone, you know." He leaned against the wall, obviously uncomfortable in formal attire. He seemed more uneasy than usual, although he covered it well with his smooth talking mannerisms.

"Well, I appreciate it all the same." I smiled at him, but he barely glanced at me. 

I watched him silently for a moment, not quite sure what to say. He seemed different. As if something was on his mind. “So, do you have a plan for the evening?” He finally spoke.

“Um… not particularly… Avoiding people, mostly.”

“Specifically the lady people?” 

“Well, I mean. I. It’s not that-” I found myself fumbling to find words, but he cut me off.

“Look. It’s pretty obvious that you're not interested.” There was a moment of silence. What was I supposed to say to that? I wasn't even entirely sure what he meant. I watched him quietly, an odd feeling rising in my stomach. A feeling I felt many times, but it was a feeling I never understood.

“So um… would you like to maybe-”

Before he could finish his question, I heard a shrill voice call out, "Oh! Prince Henry! Oh, it is such a pleasure to see you!" I winced as a hand grabbed mine. In a split moment, I found myself quickly swept away into the crowd of people as a stranger dragged me off to dance. 

It made me feel ill, spinning around, attempting to be polite as I was pushed from lady to lady. All of them seemed so desperate. They were all so hopeful. But the truth was, I was uninterested in them all.

I thought about Alexander a good deal. But every time I tried to escape and look for him, I found myself snatched away by yet another desperate girl. What was it he wanted to say? Where had he disappeared to? I could only help I would see him again before the night ended.

The music continued on, loud and clear, hour after hour. It felt like eternity, but after a mere two hours I had an intense headache. The only reason I pressed on was the fact that I knew my father was watching. Standing on the the balcony above. It hurt so much, knowing how desperate he was. He would be so disappointed to know that not a single girl could draw my attention.

The later the night got, the more desperate the woman became. I grew more distressed with every moment. And then I saw her. There she stood at the edge of the room, looking relatively graceful and elegant. The only person who did not appear to be starving for my attention. At the very least, she seemed like a nice enough person. Although I was nowhere near attracted to her, I decided to at least pretend.

Breaking away from the desperate girl clinging to my arm, I went straight over to the girl in the extravagant blue gown. I smiled, I bowed, and I asked her to dance. Before I knew it, I found myself spending the rest of the evening with her. We danced little, and talked lots. And although she seemed plenty sweet and intelligent, it just felt wrong.  
I always heard stories. The stories of princes finding the perfect princess. Sweeping her off her feet and whisking her away to marry her. But no matter how hard I tried, those stories felt off. Almost as if I was chasing false destiny. There was no feeling. No connection. And that bothered me.

As the night went on, we wandered away from the noise of the ballroom and out into the courtyard. We sat down on the edge of the water fountain, engaged in light conversation. As much as I tried to enjoy myself a little, I couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in my chest. My head spun with all sorts of thoughts and notions, but one thought screamed loudest in my head.

"What if I don't want a princess?" It only struck me that I had spoken out loud when I took a moment to look at her face. She had stopped speaking, and her eyes locked onto me with a mixture of confusion and shock.

"I... I beg your pardon?" She said slowly, trying to regain composure. I felt my face going hot. I tried to look at her, but I couldn't.

"I.. I only meant... maybe... I just..." a stared at the ground, attempting to keep my voice steady. 

"If you wouldn't want a princess, or a lovely young lady, than what ever would you...?" She turned her head to the side.

"I didn't mean to speak out loud," I tried to say. "I was only thinking."

"Well, sometimes it helps to say things out loud," she pushed gently.

"Oh, I couldn't. You would only think ill of me." I became overwhelmed with a sense of shame. All the feelings that haunted me for years were flooding my senses.

"I can assure you. Anything you wish to say stays between you and I." 

I took a deep breath, staring up at the stars. I felt the words fall from my mouth; slowly and painfully. "I want a knight in shining armor." 

For a good five minutes, there was silence. I didn't dare look at her. Seeing her face would only make tears unavoidable. Suddenly I felt her delicate hand on my shoulder. She began to say something, but her voice was cut off by the sound of the clock tower.

"Oh no..." she breathed.

"What is it?" My voice was less than steady.

"Twelve O'clock... midnight... oh, Henry, I have to go!" With that, she jumped up and took off running. Panic took over immediately and I quickly followed after her.

"Wait! Please! Don't go!"  
"I must! But don't worry. Your secret is safe with me! Goodbye, prince Henry!" She didn't stop, and she didn't look back. She kept running. And for some reason, I continued to follow her. Back through the ballroom and down the hall, I followed her. 

I had almost caught up to her when I felt myself slam into someone else. With a cry of surprise we fell to the floor together. I quickly struggled to get up.

"I'm so sorry... but that girl... I have to-" I looked down and realized I had run into Alexander. He looked up at me, still taken by surprise.

"Henry... I've been looking everywhere for you... I just had to talk to you before it was too late..." 

In that moment, I forgot about the girl. I looked into Alexander's eyes. There was a feeling. A feeling that started in my stomach. It was warm. I found myself blushing as I realized he had grabbed one of my wrists to keep me from running away. My other hand was on his chest and our faces were so close. I couldn't pull my gaze away from his eyes. And before I knew what was happening, I felt his other arm go around my waist. He looked so earnest... so genuine. And slightly desperate as he whispered the words I would never forget.

"I'm in love with you."

Without a second thought, I brushed his chin with my finger, and tenderly kissed him on the lips. His eyes widened with surprise as he looked up at me.

"But what about the girl?" He asked softly.

"I don't even know her name,” I murmured.

"Then why were you chasing her?"

"Because I told her I wanted a knight in shining armor."


	2. Chapter 2

It seemed like we had been there together on the floor forever. Unfortunately it was only five minutes before a swarm of guards came running down the hall. Alex and I quickly scrambled to get up as three of the men came towards us. 

“Your majesty! What happened?”

“The king sent us to find you!”

“Where is the girl?”

I was really unsure of what to say. Everything had happened so fast. One moment I was chasing a girl who knew my biggest secret, and the next moment I was kissing my best friend. 

“She… she got away…” I finally managed to say. 

“Your majesty! I found something!” A guard came running towards me. In his hand was a shoe. Not just any shoe. Her shoe. 

“Let me see that.” As soon as he was close enough I snatched it from his hand. I examined it closely. Holding it up to the light, I was amazed to find that the slipper was made entirely of glass. It sparkled in the light unlike anything I had ever seen. 

“I… I can’t believe it. It’s a glass slipper. Her glass slipper!”

I stood there as they all watched me. Slowly, an idea came to me. An idea that could actually work. At least, for a short amount of time. I glanced over at Alex, who was obviously uncomfortable in the ever growing crowd of guards.

“Henry! I demand to know what’s happened!” I caught my breath as my father came forward. His hair was in a disheveled state on top of his head, and his face was red. It was apparent that he had been running.

"Well... I..."

"There was a girl! And she seemed plenty nice! You spent most of the night with her. What on earth went wrong?" His words rushed out despite the struggle to catch his breath.  
"I don't know what went wrong." I felt Alex's eyes on me. I could feel the anxiety and unsureness.

"Well where did she go?!"

"She ran away! I don't know what happened and I don't know why she ran. The clock struck and off she went!" And in that moment, I found words coming from me which I never expected to say.

"She was perfect. She was the one I wanted to marry. And I will not marry anyone unless she is found. We have her shoe. Surely that's enough to find her."

"Your majesty you must be joking." The guards all stared in shock. Alex had his eyes locked on me. His jaw was set and his expression grim.

"It shall be done, my boy." My father nodded firmly. "That shoe will be tried on every girl in the kingdom if we must."

"But your majes-"

"IT SHALL BE DONE!" He cried out before storming off, leaving the guards in a state of confusion.

"Henry, might I talk to you for a moment? Alone?" Alex looked at me with an expression that made my stomach drop. Without a word, I grabbed his arm and led him out to the garden. Once we were alone we stood there in silence.

"What are you thinking?" He finally asked. He wouldn't look at me.

"I was thinking they will never find the girl based on her shoe so maybe it would buy me some time to sort things out?"

"But what happens if they somehow do find the girl! What happens then?" 

"I don't know what happens then!"

There was more silence as he stared at the ground, fingering a single loose chocolate brown curl. I found myself blushing as I looked at him. For the first time, it really started to sink in. He was the one all along.

Finally, he looked up at me. His eyes were so wide. So fearful. "I kissed you," he whispered.

"I know," I answered softly. 

"I really love you. And I don't want to lose you. Not now. Not ever." His voice was quiet and trembling. I couldn't help but take a step towards him. With only a moment of hesitation, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Alex. I'm really scared right now."

"Henry. I am, too." I could feel his body shaking as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I... I think... part of me knew I was gay all along... and I just couldn't admit that to myself..." my voice quivered. Despite my best efforts, I could feel the warm tears running down my cheeks.

"I had accepted myself a long time ago really... I just couldn't cope with other people not being able to accept me." He choked back tears as he held onto me. "I wanted to tell you... but I was so scared..."

For a long time, we stood there. We held onto each other. There was no need to say anymore. I could hear his every breath. I felt his every heartbeat. And there was something so beautiful about standing in the night air, being close to him. That was the feeling I heard about so often. The feeling I could not experience for myself until then.

"So what does this mean for us?" He finally whispered.

"I think it means we should be together. One way or another, we should be together."

"I think that sounds wonderful." 

The clock struck loudly in the near distance. One o'clock in the morning. 

"Perhaps I should go. I could come back and see you in the morning if you'd like..."

Although I didn't want him to leave, I could feel myself growing more and more exhausted.

"I suppose that would be best..." I sighed a little, hesitant to let go.

"I promise I will come back as soon as I can," he said softly. With that, he gently kissed my lips before letting go of my waist and pulling away. With a dramatic bow, he grinned and said, "farewell, my dear prince charming," before swooping down the garden steps and off into the night.


End file.
